Finlay Christie: Champagne Casanova comedy review – Proudly pretentious
Finlay Christie pokes fun at his posh upbringing in a set of chronically online jokes, witty writing and self-mocking jabs
Leaning heavily into his posh boy shtick, it’s almost as if Finlay Christie doesn’t want to be liked at this liberal arts festival (admittedly one full of posh people like him). But Christie has a cheeky, teasing persona and he pokes fun at his progressive Islington parents and toys with fellow privately educated folk in the audience. What lifts this show isn’t his joky cockiness, it’s the sheer quality of his writing. Each routine is highly inventive, innovative sparks of imagination that are then intelligently thought through, crafted and polished.
At the start, having established his upper middle-class credentials, he then describes the smallest abode he ever had to reside in, layering up the metaphors as he goes. There’s plenty more to come, with a creative take on incels and a reimagining of Kim Jong Un. He peppers occasional impressions throughout and a set piece about Britain being enticed back for one last empire job momentarily changes the straight stand-up dynamic. Christie is unafraid to cut close to the bone in places too, when he sets out a much more morally sound version of Epstein Island and explores his granddad’s beef with Stephen Hawking. No wonder he’s fast on the rise.
Finlay Christie: Champagne Casanova, Monkey Barrel, until 30 August, 10.40pm; picture: Rebecca Need-Menear.